Andrea's Review	Melanie's Review	Lynn Anne's Review	Catherine's Review	Eli's Review

Review by Andrea

Marbling is one of those techniques that looks difficult to duplicate in my opinion. Not only do the colors seem to always "go" together, but the patterns - wow - fall into that category of "very interesting" and I wonder how they do that? I was interested in getting the details on how to marble especially when the DVD jacket claimed that Peggy Skycraft "demystifies everything" about the tools and technique to marbling! I love having the artist give me personal instruction at the rate of $29.95 for life, what a deal!

This DVD is another of PageSage's professionally published crafting topics featuring an enormously talented crafter in that title's field. Mastering Marbling is no exception. The DVD itself has very similar graphics printed on it so that it is easy to recognize as belonging to that specific case. Speaking of the case, it is a plastic clamshell style with a fully colored insert that serves as the covers and inside detail. The printing is easy to read and describes the information on the DVD. The DVD is chaptered into segments that are easy to understand if simply played from the beginning to end or shuffled through in order of preference. The ability to skip from one section of the DVD to another is a wonderful feature.

Peggy Skycraft is our hostess guiding us through the mystery of marbling. She is such a Pro! She makes it look effortless to create any beautifully marbled pattern in a matter of minutes. The Basics is the first section of the DVD and explains the tools needed for this craft. Having never done marbling before, this section was extremely helpful. Peggy explains the importance of the variety of tools needed to make the different designs AND how to make some of the tools, called rakes, yourself using easy to purchase items if you can't find them in your house. Peggy also covers how to prepare the paper for marbling, what types of paint to use, how to mix the marbling gel and the final steps taken with your creation is complete. Very thorough indeed!

The process of marbling goes like this: gather all the necessary tools and create multiple types of rakes if needed; prepare the paper to receive the marbled pattern; prepare the marbling gel that floats the color (usually acrylic paint) on the top; add colors to the gel; create patterns in the paint; place paper on the top of the gel; remove paper; rinse the paper; dry the paper; then seal with a varnish or watered down Crystal Lacquer mixture for longevity. Ahhh, the mystery of marbling is becoming a bit clearer!

The next section of the DVD covers the patterns created during the marbling process. This is where the different rakes and tools come into play. Rakes are basically pieces of Coroplast sheeting (like those corrugated plastic Garage Sale signs) or plastic needlepoint canvas threaded with bamboo skewers or pins at steady intervals. Peggy recommends a variety of rakes to create different patterns. The wider that the pin is, the more effect it will have on the pattern. Some of the most popular patterns using the different types of rakes are: Pebble, Foundations, Wave, French Curl, Bouquet, Thistle, Over Marbling and Flowers. Here are some of my self-made patterns - can you tell which ones they are?

The section titled "More Marbling" discusses problems that may arise during your marbling experience. Peggy also covers using alternative materials to paper, creating your own paints and other tool tips.

The Gallery shows many of Peggy's creations with the ability to jump to that section on the DVD to learn that technique - a very handy feature when you're wanting to duplicate a design that Peggy created but can't remember where you saw it!

The Extras section is a quick and easy reference guide to specifics on the projects, marbling recipes and more about Peggy herself. I find this section particularly handy when needing a quick refresher about a technique or where to get a certain supply.

Overall, I found the content of the DVD very thorough and a great resource for a beginner in the art of marbling. I believe that experienced artists would also find great value in this DVD due to the wealth of knowledge offered by Peggy. The filming was done well - I especially liked the shots of the pattern creation being clear and easy to see. The audio quality could use some boost. I could hear Peggy better when I turned the volume above my television's normal setting. I would have liked a bit more energy and enthusiasm from Peggy, but I believe that I may be making an unfair comparison between Peggy and Tim Holtz after recently viewing his PageSage DVD! There is no doubt that she is very knowledgeable of her art since she taught a complete novice (me) how to create art successfully using her techniques! I recommend this DVD to anyone who has an interest in the art of marbling and I know that I will not hesitate to refer to this DVD again when wanting to experiment with other marbling techniques.

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Review by Melanie

Have you ever admired the marbling designs in fabric or paper and wondered "How did they do that?" I have, and after watching PageSage's DVD called Mastering Marbling with Peggy Skycraft, I was brave enough to try it. Peggy Skycraft thoroughly covers the tools, paints, and techniques involved in making beautiful marblized creations on this 103 minute full color DVD.

Peggy starts off by covering the basics of marbled creations - the tools. When I found out I would actually be creating marbled paper, my first concern was not having the fancy combs and rakes I have seen in how-to photos of marbling. Peggy shows you how to create simple and useful tools to use for creating your marble patterns. Before the actual "marble" process, you have to prepare your paper and mix some chemicals for treating your paper. She talks about "what" and "why" the chemicals are needed, so if you are planning on getting deep into this craft, you may want to write some of these things down. I was actually very intimidated at this point because I just want to play with paint and paper, and the chemistry talk (methacellulose, soda ash, ph test strips, surfactant, alum, face mask!) actually had me asking if I could actually do this. I perked up a bit when she started talking about the different kinds of paint used in marbling. In addition to acrylic paints, she also uses watercolor paint. I was excited because as a watercolorist, I have plenty of paint to try for this. You will also need your notebook for this because with her experience, she gives you tips on which brands work best for marbling, and which require more working. Peggy herself keeps a notebook of designs and paints used in many of her work for various clients in order to help her duplicate future orders.

Peggy demonstrates the basic marbling patterns as well as some more fancy designs. She covers patterns such as the wave, french curl, bouquet, and even flowers and hearts. She gives you tips on how to fix mistakes, problems that can happen, how to marble on fabric, and more information on tools and trays. There is an interactive gallery with more than 60 pieces of artwork. When you see something you would like more information on, you can jump directly to that technique. What I like about this DVD is that it is more information that you could get in a workshop, which costs more than the price of the DVD. After watching the DVD just one time, I was comfortable enough to try my hand at marbling. Below is a image of one of the marble designs I created after watching this DVD.

The sound on the DVD was distracting. The volume of the whole DVD was very low. I had to set my volume up considerable higher than normal to hear Peggy talking. Many times I thought that the sound stopped completely, but realized that it must be Peggy's microphone. If she paused during talking, the "noise" on the mic stopped which made me think that the sound completely disappeared, but then she would finish her sentence and the sound would come back. This part was extremely distracting. I didn't know if Peggy had stopped talking completely or if the mic did cut off. Sometimes the mic would just cut on and off during the breaks in her sentences. I played the DVD on two different players with the same result.

Overall, I found this DVD to be very informative. There was more informative than I probably needed for a beginner. There was quite a bit of chemical information on the DVD, but for people involved heavily in marbling, this information may be necessary and valuable. There was over 30 minutes of pre-marbling information before any actual marbling was done. Once the actual marbling of paper segments started, I was wowed with how easy Peggy made it look. If you are interested in learning how to marble on paper or fabric, this DVD will cover all the bases involved in the process. I also recommend it to those that already marble, because Peggy gives in-depth information on various brands and tool-making that you will only get from an experienced artist. The retail price of this DVD is $29.95 and well worth the price for this up-close and personal time with a master marbling artist.

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Review by Lynn Anne

PageSage's Mastering Marbling DVD is a comprehensive guide to the art of marbling. Useful for beginners as well as more advanced marblers, Peggy Skycraft's professional instruction provides a broad overview of tools, techniques and troubleshooting tips, as well as specific patterns, discussions of various paints, and even special techniques such as creating 'flowers' and marbling fabrics. My initial reaction to this DVD was to feel intimidated about trying this art form, as I saw how many supplies seemed to be necessary, and how many things could go wrong with the process. After I actually started working, I found that Peggy's introductory characterization of marbling as a "complicated simple process" was spot-on, as I found success with my earliest attempts, yet kept heading back to the DVD as I came across questions or looked for more patterns to try.

Mastering Marbling is packed with 103 minutes of instruction and demonstration by master marbler Peggy Skycraft, an artist with 35 years of experience with marbling. Fortunately, the format turns out to be very user-friendly, as it breaks the subject down into broad topics such as "Basics" and "Patterns" and then into a number of smaller sub-topics that make everything easy to digest. In addition, text often appears onscreen to further explain unfamiliar terms used in the discussion, or provide additional tips and information.

Marbling involves 'floating' paint on the surface of a gel medium, creating a pattern by moving the colors around, and placing a pre-treated paper on top of the paint, where it picks up the pattern.

The section titled "Basics" covers tools, papers, paints and surfactants (agents that make the paints spread out properly on the surface of the gel), gels, watercolor marbling and optional finishes. Clicking on "Patterns" enables you to scroll down a list of pattern names and see a thumbnail preview image of an example of each. "More Marbling" covers troubleshooting problems that may come up, marbling fabric, and custom paints and equipment. A gallery showcasing dozens of patterns provides easy links directly to the area on the DVD that teaches the pattern used to make each sample, while a voiceover covers seemingly random tips and topics not necessarily covered elsewhere. At the end, a section titled, "Extras" includes (among other resources) a convenient index of pages of topics covered elsewhere in the DVD. Clicking on a topic name starts a short clip dealing with the topic, and if that's not enough, a link at the bottom of the screen will take you directly to the section of the DVD from whence that clip originated. Once I discovered this feature, I referred to it often.

One thing Skycraft does not do in presenting her material is 'talk down' to her students. The list of supplies and materials she introduces is pretty daunting, and includes a number of items that are more suited to a dedicated marbler than a novice. Skycraft shows a number of ways to create custom combs and tools for marbling, which look like wonderful pieces. For someone who won't be sure until trying out the craft whether or not it's worth investing so much time and effort for a proper tool, many of the options may seem too involved. But Skycraft does emphasize that these tools can be made from any number of materials, planned or 'found,' which helps enable her audience to brainstorm tools of their own. Personally, I bought a couple of hair combs in the supermarket and used a gardening hand tool to snip off excess teeth until I had what I needed to start.

An area I initially found worrisome was the segment on 'problems.' After watching Skycraft's discourse, I was certain that my marbling was doomed before I even started. Patterns disrupted by a speck of dander from the dry cleaners? What chance did I have, working in a rarely dusted home shared with one furry dog and two furry cats? Luckily, I found that even after weeks of experimenting, many 'common' problems never surfaced, and those that did generally turned up only after I started straying more from the tried-and-true and began adding my own surfactants and making my own custom paints. By then, I had enough confidence in the process to understand the segment in the spirit it was intended - to help, not to scare away! I also found this section invaluable as I came across things I didn't readily remember from the segment, but found there when I needed them. Instead of catering specifically to those at the lowest level of skill or experience, Skycraft provides layers of information that marblers can pick through to find what they need at any given moment, then return to over and over again as confidence grows and it's time to try new techniques or take care of new challenges in the process.

Another resource mentioned in one of the Master Marbling segments was Peggy Skycraft's own website. This is not a how-to website, and though she does sell some products for marblers (such as 'Marbler's Magic,' a medium she created to help paints react better during the marbling process), much of the site is geared towards selling the end products she designs herself. I did have a pretty specific question, however, after I tried using an acrylic paint I'd mixed myself and found that it wasn't 'sticking' to the paper well in the final rinsing process. I decided to take a chance and try contacting Peggy Skycraft through her website. I was impressed when I received a quick and thorough response. The problem may have been in the acrylic medium I was using - or it may have been my use of acid-free paper! (Time to try marbling on other types of paper - such as the varieties Skycraft recommends on the DVD - and then treating the final product with an acid-reducing spray such as Krylon's Make It Acid-Free! )

Overall, I was very impressed by the amount and level of instruction housed in this one little DVD. PageSage found an excellent instructor in Peggy Skycraft, and the many samples shown both in the instructional segments and the Gallery images are both beautiful and inspiring. Despite an initial feeling that I'd gotten in over my head, I found that Mastering Marbling was exactly the comprehensive resource I needed to not only get my feet wet in the art of marbling, but get me excited about experimenting and growing in the craft as well. I highly recommend this DVD to anyone who wishes to give marbling a try, or who has already experimented and is looking to hone the skills they've already developed.

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Review by Catherine

PageSage, the makers of such wonderful DVD videos as "An Altered Journey with Tim Holtz", have produced another DVD entitled "Mastering Marbling: Simple techniques for elegant paper and fabric with Peggy Skycraft". Before I begin my review, I must say that I am a miserable failure at the technique of marbling paper. After watching the video twice, and reading the instructions on the marbling kit I received several times, I was never able to produce any results with this technique that I was pleased with. Therefore, any reviews that I complete which is centered on this technique will be tainted by the fact that I have been unable to master it.

When I learned that we would be reviewing another video from PageSage, I was excited. I was really looking forward to learning a new technique to use in my paper crafts. After watching the "Mastering Marbling" video the first time, I was completely lost. I must give a warning that this video does not seem to be intended for the beginning marbler, or for a person who just wants enough information to "dabble" in the technique. Peggy Skycraft seems to possess an extremely large knowledge base in the different techniques, tools, and products of marbling. The main problem with this video, in my opinion, is that she shares way too much information, which makes the video very confusing.

The "Mastering Marbling" video is 103 minutes long, and is split up into three main sections: Basics, Patterns, and More Marbling. The very first topic under the Basics section is Marbling Tools, which immediately sets the viewer up with the notion that this is not an easy paper craft. There are so many different tools, papers, and products that are introduced in these first few sections, that were I wanting to go out and buy what I needed to get started, I would not know where to begin. The section of the video dealing with Patterns was by far my favorite section. I really enjoyed watching Peggy create such wonderful works of art. Again, however she uses so many different products, that it is difficult to know where to begin in purchasing products for this craft. The different patterns that are created, along with the gallery sections following each pattern, are absolutely beautiful. The final section, entitled More Marbling is very informative as well. I thought the fact that the DVD included a "Problems" section to be extremely useful. I seem to have come across every problem that Peggy mentioned in the DVD during my foray into paper marbling, and then some. Additionally, I thought that the section on Marbling Fabric was very interesting. However, I think it will take a great deal more practice with marbling in general before I try marbling on fabric. Then, if I wasn't overwhelmed enough by the amount of products involved in the technique of marbling, there is even more information on tools and trays to use.

In terms of production, the DVD is for the most part very well made. There was one problem that I think could have been addressed before the DVD was marketed, however. There were several places in the DVD where the sound seems to "cut out" or the microphone seems to stop working. Granted, these sections were very quick, but I began to find it very distracting. I was wondering if there was a problem with my DVD player, the editing of the video, or if it was in fact a problem with the microphone whenever Peggy moved. This distraction led my mind to wander during the video, which may have led to some of my confusion about the technique.

Basically, I think that I let the part of the title that says "Simple techniques for elegant paper" lead me into expecting the technique to be fairly easy. In the description of the DVD on the back of the package, it says "Mastering Marbling is an intensive marbling workshop you can take at home." Intensive is definitely one word I would use to describe this video. If I were to get more involved in marbling, and be willing to branch out into a variety of different ways of marbling, I am sure that this video would be very helpful. As I have stated this video is, in my opinion, not for beginners. I would suggest that any person who is interested in mastering the technique of marbling, with no previous knowledge of the technique, try their hand at the technique before viewing the DVD. I would suggest that PageSage produce a DVD about marbling that is geared more toward beginners. For any person who is familiar with the technique and would like to try out different products, patterns, or tools, this DVD is probably for you.

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Review by Eli

Mastering Marbling, PageSage DVD

“An intensive marbling workshop you can take at home,” states the back of the DVD case. PageSage offers this teaching “video” to share and instruct techniques for creating marbled effects on paper and fabric. The 103 minute DVD features Peggy Skycraft who has been marbling for an amazing 35 years. Skycraft is at ease on the video and introduces the process as a simple one but says it is “the most complicated simple process” she has used in creating art.

To understand the elements of marbling, PageSage breaks down the process into digestible bits of information. The topics include: basics, tools, paints, Surfactants (which help with the flow of the paints), papers, gels, patterns and extras. The DVD illustrates every step with helpful still images and video. Using the still images, Skycraft highlights a variety of the options for the products needed to create the marbling effects. Using the video, she demonstrates, with ease, setting up and capturing great marbling effects on primarily paper but also fabric.

A bonus from PageSage DVD is the Interactive Gallery. While watching the interactive gallery, click on the image with your remote and it immediately takes you to the video segment showing that style of marbling. Find a similar feature on the Extras menu under tips. Choosing a tip takes you directly to the video clip where that hint is shown. Almost 45 hints are highlighted from an alphabetical list.

Other features in the Extras menu include: recipes for the chemicals in the marbling process, supplies resource list, more information about Peggy, info on other PageSage videos and the DVD credits.

I must say that the presentation of the DVD flows nicely from one element to the next. The process is mesmerizing although a bit intimidating. I enjoyed watching Skycraft reveal each piece of paper.

I did feel the DVD was a bit overwhelming as there are so many steps to marbling but I think they put it together in the most reasonable way that made the most sense. It just was a ton of information.

Conclusion: If marbling is something you want to try…this is definitely the way to go. There are tons of tips and a straight forward teaching of a complicated process. Peggy Skycraft is easy to listen to and makes the process sound simple and intriguing. The interactive hints and gallery are a definite bonus. Recommended.

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